Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

The following Monday, the official website of the Shanghai Theatre Academy issued a congratulatory message, announcing that student Zheng Nan's work "Hilarious Men" had surpassed 100 million views online.

The Shanghai Theatre Academy provides clear resource support, platform opportunities, and official publicity to outstanding, promising, or already popular students.

When students win awards, act in movies, or sign contracts, the school's official website will publish congratulatory notices and include them in the list of "Outstanding Students".

Zheng Nan's interview video was also reposted by many small media outlets, indirectly increasing Zheng Nan's popularity.

With the promotion by the Shanghai Theatre Academy, more students on campus learned about Zheng Nan, making her a minor celebrity at the academy.

Once someone becomes famous, they gain fans. Some students from the Shanghai Theatre Academy even ask Zheng Nan for her autograph.

"Brother Zheng Nan, can I get your autograph?" A girl from the Shanghai Theatre Academy with a pure and innocent look ran over to Zheng Nan with a look of surprise and delight after they bumped into each other on campus.

"Of course, where should I sign it?" Signing an autograph isn't an unreasonable request; Zheng Nan will sign it for anyone who asks.

"Oh dear, I didn't bring my notebook. How about this, Brother Zheng Nan, you sign it on my shoulder strap." The younger sister deliberately rummaged through her bag and then stretched out the shoulder strap with two fingers.

This movement involves applying upward force to make the younger sister's cleavage appear more prominent.

If Lin Wenruo were in this situation, he would agree to anything, let alone sign an autograph.

Zheng Nan has seen it all before. Whether this girl is a fan or not is another matter, but she must have taken a liking to his popularity and wanted to use connections.

"It's okay, I brought it." Zheng Nan took out her notebook, tore off a page, signed it, and handed it to the other person.

The younger sister was clearly not prepared for this situation and was stunned. She couldn't bring herself to add him as a friend or exchange phone numbers.

Zheng Nan didn't hesitate and turned to leave.

Later, Zheng Nan discovered a problem: his name had too many strokes.

It's okay to sign a few names now, but when you really become a top celebrity, you'll be signing thousands of names a day. Your hand will wear out from all that writing!

Should I change my stage name?

What names have fewer strokes?

I've got it! Why not take my mother Ding Yanqiu's surname, Ding, and give me the single name Yi?

Of course, Zheng Nan only thought about this in her mind; she wouldn't actually change her stage name.

"The vast horizon is my love, and flowers are blooming at the foot of the rolling green hills..."

The phone rang, and Zheng Nan glanced at the caller ID; it was another unknown number.

Zheng Nan has been receiving so many calls from unknown numbers lately that he suspects his personal information has been leaked.

When I have money in the future, I'll hire a personal shopper to answer the phone.

"Hello, who is this?"

"It's me, Dilraba." Dilraba's soft and sweet voice rang out from the other end of the phone.

"What's wrong, Dilraba? Why are you calling all of a sudden? Is something the matter?" The two of them usually communicate via QQ and haven't exchanged phone numbers.

"I sent you a message on QQ, but you haven't replied." Dilraba was a little aggrieved; she had gotten the phone number from her teacher.

"Really?" Zheng Nan quickly opened QQ on his computer, only to find that he had turned off message notifications in order to work quietly on the script for the second season of "Hilarious Men".

There are messages from many people on QQ, including messages from people I haven't contacted in elementary and middle school for several years, as well as a bunch of friend requests.

Zheng Nan found Dilraba's QQ account and, sure enough, saw a message from two hours ago: "[Zheng Nan, do you have time?]"

[Are you busy because you haven't replied?]

【(￣^￣゜)】

"Sorry, I was working on something before. What's up with having time?"

"Let's talk in person. I'll wait for you here on the sycamore-lined avenue." Reba opened her mouth, but felt that some things were better left unsaid over the phone.

"It'll be there in five minutes."

The tree-lined avenue is a well-known spot on the Shanghai Theatre Academy campus, with plane trees, most of which are over 70 years old, and buildings that blend Chinese and Western architectural styles on both sides.

In early May, the new leaves of the sycamore trees are tender and green, and the light of the setting sun shines through the leaves, casting dappled shadows, making it look particularly dreamy.

When Zheng Nan ran over, she saw the girl under the sycamore tree from afar.

The girl wore a light blue denim jacket with the sleeves casually rolled up, revealing a woven brown bracelet on her wrist. A beige T-shirt clung loosely to her shoulders, making her neck and shoulders appear even more slender and graceful.

Her long, black hair was slightly disheveled by the evening breeze. The girl gently tucked the stray strands behind her ears, revealing her bright and beautiful features.

"I'm leaving," Reba said softly.

"Huh?!" Zheng Nan was still catching her breath when she suddenly heard this news, and she was stunned.

What's going on?!

I was reborn and then transmigrated again?

I've never heard of Dilraba dropping out of the Shanghai Theatre Academy in my past life.

Could it be that I caused the butterfly effect?

In an instant, Zheng Nan considered many possibilities.

Fortunately, Dilraba promptly added, "The crew of 'Anarhan' notified me to experience life there. My plane ticket is already booked, and I'm leaving the day after tomorrow morning."

Zheng Nan then realized what was going on.

He knew that Dilraba was going to film "Anarhan".

This drama actually proves that Dilraba's career is quite promising. She had the opportunity to play a leading role in her freshman year of college, while many people spend their entire lives in the entertainment industry without ever becoming a leading actress.

"I wish you all the best, but I've heard that experiencing life there is tough, so you should be mentally prepared."

"The production crew told me that I have to hand in my phone during the two weeks of experiential learning," Dilraba said, somewhat worried.

People in modern society can live without anything, except their mobile phones.

Every day, the first thing I do when I open my eyes is look for my phone, and when I'm bored, I subconsciously scroll through it.

Is playing on your phone addictive?

Not addictive.

Are there days when you don't use your phone?

No.

"Keep going, the Reba I know is the best." Zheng Nan encouraged her first, and then explained her reasoning: "This opportunity is very rare. The TV series 'Anarhan' is destined to be broadcast on CCTV. This is not comparable to our small-scale production of 'Hilarious Men'."

The TV series "Anarhan" is of special significance because it was produced under the leadership of CCTV, which makes it very important.

Dilraba's future rise to the top is inseparable from this drama.

"I know, but 'Hilarious Men' is no small matter either; it has a very special meaning for me." Dilraba looked intently at Zheng Nan.

Actually, Dilraba didn't have a deep impression of Zheng Nan last semester. Her biggest memory of him was that he ranked last in his major courses.

However, after a month of filming and getting to know Zheng Nan this semester, Dilraba was very attracted to her mature and calm qualities.

Zheng Nan is truly different from other male students of the same age at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Before leaving the Shanghai Theatre Academy for several months to film a movie, the first person Dilraba thought of was not her best friend Yuan Bingyan, but Zheng Nan.

Under Dilraba's gaze, Zheng Nan didn't know what to say.

"When the last two episodes of the first season of 'Hilarious Men' aired, I wasn't able to watch them right away." Dilraba changed the subject: "But I hope that when I come back, I will have the opportunity to continue filming the second season."

"If you ask, there's definitely a spot for you, but I might not pay you!"

"You talk as if you paid for the first season!"